Lambertville Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting: August 13, 2025
The Parks and Recreation Commission met at 7pm on Thursday, August 14, 2025 at the Phillip L. Pittore Justice Center.
Please note: This is not official documentation. All efforts at accuracy are taken. See the Lambertville municipal website for official records.
Jim, Jill, Jenn, Mary Anne, Barry, Carol, and Mike were present.
They pledged allegiance to the flag. They approved the minutes.
The Chairperson introduced Jill, who is new to the commission. Jill has lived in Lambertville for five years, has young children, and is very invested in what happens in town. She knows some of the commission members, and is one of the cofounders of the Lambertville Nature Explorers.
Public Comments
🗣️David V. apologized for a reporting mistake in a previous Parks and Recreation meeting story that was published on LambPage.com.
Upcoming/Ongoing
- Possible bench donation by Missy for Cherry Street.
- Possible proposal for replacing three dead trees by next meeting.
- Potentially doing some landscape improvements at Mary E. Sheridan park.
Music Mountain
The Federal Earmark Remediation project near Music Mountain cut down a lot of trees. Mary Anne wants to plant trees at that site. The mayor thought there might be funding left, but there is not. Sourland Conservancy will help plant trees there. Mary Anne will meet with their coordinator next week.
A motion was made to accept Sourland Conservancy’s offer to help plant there. The motion was accepted.
Holcombe Park
On the 14th, Jim and Mary Anne brought plants up there. Two picnic tables were placed next to the historic house. An art class was held at the picnic tables.
Cavallo Park
A soil remediation contractor will hopefully be selected in October.
Ely Park
They are still trying to sort out the log equipment at Ely park.
Signage
Cindy and Lindsey have been working with Mary Anne on signs for Ely Park. They have drafts of the signs going to the insurance company for review. Changes to the language may still happen.
Mary Anne is hoping to have the sign made by the county, at cost.
Riparian Buffer
Mary Anne talked about the possibility of planting a riparian buffer on Ely Creek at base of Music Mountain. The Sourland Conservancy might help them do it. They will do more research.
🗣️Peter H. said there is no room behind the school. He said it sounds like a good idea, but he lives on N. Franklin Street, and he doesn’t want anything done that will send water to his property.
Mary Anne said they would be planting away from the creek. She also said no one solution will cure flooding, but that every step the city takes makes a difference. The commission doesn’t want to impact the sports fields. Mary Anne mentioned the grant program for adding native plants to help soak up water.
Peter H. said great ideas have implications, and he reiterated that he does’t want any resistance to the flow of water, because that impacts properties.
The commission said the buffer would soak up water, and that it’s currently just a plan that they will look at further.
Nature Trail
The signs are in, they’ve been reviewed, and installation begins next week. Some downed trees were removed from the trail.
Nature Programs
Two nature programs are scheduled. Eleven children have signed up for both so far. They promoted the events on Facebook and in Lambertville Matters. The classes will be held at City Hall.
Butterfly Festival / Pollinator Garden
The Butterfly Festival is schedule for September 13th from 10am-2pm. Lambertville Goes Wild and Lambertville Nature Explorers will be there. The commission discussed the logistics of building a butterfly garden, having people purchase plants for the garden, and/or having students do the planting. The location has a lot of foot traffic, so considerations need to be made to keep the spot from being impacted by the children who play there on a daily basis. Three of them will go to the site and discuss the possibilities.
🗣️Peter H. thanked everyone and left.
Bench
Beth Caruso’s bench for Erin Keys is in, but DPW may not have installed it yet.
Junior Park Stewards
There was nothing new with the development of this program.
Trees at Ely Park
The commission has approximately $4,300 in funding available for planting 5-7 additional trees in Ely Park between the gazebo and the sports fields.
The commission discussed the placement of the trees and if or how it would impact the play areas or events that happen there. The trees they would consider planting would be native to the area, would provide good shade, and must be able to do well on the site. Everything planted helps absorb and reduce storm water. They agreed to look at it more, and may vote on it next month.
Facility Use Requests
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The Lambertville Historical Society wants to use the park for a snack shack during the Oct. 19th house tour. The motion was accepted and approved.
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Roots Riverside Farmers Market wanted to use Holcombe Park for their farmer’s market. They proposed having 15-30 vendors and 300-500 attendees per market. The commission discussed if this was the group who did a market at Lambertville Station. They questioned how that many people would get up into Holcombe Park, and where they would park. They said the parking lot is flat, the park is not. They pointed out that the park is not ADA accessible and strollers can’t easily get up there. It’s also a historic site. The applicant said they would handle trash, but it wasn’t clear how. The commission wondered if the applicant had confused Holcombe Park with the Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead Museum. The commission denied the request.
The commission adjourned at 8:05pm.
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